Fuel injector apparatus



Oct. 31, 1961 w. E. MEYER FUEL INJECTOR APPARATUS 2 SheetsSheet 1 FiledJan. 29, 1958 Oct. 31, 1961 W. E. MEYER FUEL INJECTOR APPARATUS FiledJan. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fnvefliorx 20099617 Z qyer' g?" UnitedStates Patent Ofilice 3,006,511 Patented Oct. 31, 1961 3,096,511 FUELINJECTOR APPARATUS Wolfgang E. Meyer, State College, Pa., assignor toBorg- Warner Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois FiledJan. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 711,863 3 Claims. (Cl. 222250) My inventionrelates to fuel injection apparatus for internal combustion engines andparticularly to fuel injection pumps of the type comprisingreciprocatory pistons movable in opposite directions by fuel underpressure being supplied thereto and pumping such fuel through fuelinjection nozzles during reciprocations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pump ofthis type having a reciprocatory piston disposed within a rotor at rightangles to the axis of rotation of the rotor with stationary fueldistributing plates or face pieces located at opposite ends of the rotorfor the purpose of providing fuel to and receiving fuel from the pistonwithin the rotor.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved form ofpump of this type in which half of the injector nozzles are connected toeach of the plates on opposite ends of the rotors, with a plurality ofports being provided also in both plates supplying fuel under pressureto the rotor.

It is also an object of the invention to provide another improved formof injection pump in which all of the fuel is supplied from one of theplates at one end of the rotor and in which all of the fuel injectornozzles are connected to the plate at the other end of the rotor.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, arrangements anddevices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out theabove stated objects and such other objects as will be apparent from thefollowing description of preferred forms of the invention illustratedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fuel injection pumpembodying the principles of the invention and taken on line 11 of FIG.2;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 2-2 and 33in FIG. 1 in the directions indicated;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a fuel supply and delivery systemfor the fuel injection pump and including fuel injection nozzles;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an internal combustion engine showing oneof the injection nozzles positioned therein;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified fuel injectionpump embodying the principles of the invention; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views taken on lines 77 and 88,respectively, in FIG. 6 in the directions indicated.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

The fuel injection pump illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 comprises acasing 10 formed of two casing portions 11 and 12 having flanges 13 and14 of increased diameter. A rim 15 is clamped over the flanges forholding the portions 11 and 12 together. A pump rotor 16 is rotatablydisposed in the casing 10 and has a peripheral flange 17 by means ofwhich the rotor 16 is maintained centralized within the casing 10. Therotor 16 is positioned between two distributing plates or face pieces 18and 19 at opposite ends of the rotor. The face piece 19 is formed withan annular sleeve portion 20 which fits within a cylindrical opening 21formed in the casing portion 12.

A shaft 22 for driving the rotor 16 extends through the sleeve portion20 and is held centrally positioned within the opening 21 by means ofthe face piece 19. A universal joint 23 is provided between the shaft 22and the rotor 16 and comprises a spherical boss 24 formed on the end ofthe shaft 22 and fitting within a cylindrical cavity 25 formed in therotor 16. A pin 26 extends through the boss 24 and into slots 27 and 28formed in the rotor 16.

The rotor 16 is provided with a cylindrical cavity 29 extendingtransversely with respect to the shaft 22. The cavity 29 is closed onopposite ends thereof by plugs 30. A shuttle plunger 31 is slidablydisposed in the cavity 29 and is formed with a peripheral groove 32therein. A rotatable control plug 33 is provided in the face piece 18and extends into the rotor 16. The plug '33 is provided on its end witha rib 34 which fits in the groove 32 of the plunger 31.

The face piece 18 and the rotor 16 respectively have flat faces 35 and36 which are in face to face contact, and the rotor 16 and the facepiece 19 respectively have flat faces 37 and 38 which are in face toface contact. A spring 39 is disposed between the face piece 19 and theadjacent end of the casing 10 for holding the rotor 16 in fluid sealingcontact with the pieces 18 and 19.

The face piece 18 has eight ports 40, 41, '42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47 inits face 35. The ports 41, 43, 45 and 47 are connected to correspondingports 48 in the casing 10, each of which is connected to a fuelinjection nozzle 49. The ports 40, 42, 44, and 46 are all connected to apassage '50 formed in the casing 10 which is connected to a passage 51extending longitudinally in the casing 10 to a single fuel inlet opening52.

Each of the nozzles 49 comprises a nozzle body 53 connected 'by means ofa conduit 54 with one of the ports 48. The nozzle body 53 is providedwith an internal passage 55 therein having an outwardly flared seat 56at its outer end. A valve plunger 57 is disposed in the nozzle body 53and is provided with an outwardly flared seat 58 adapted to rest andseal on the surface 56. A spring 59 is disposed between a shoulder inthe nozzle body 53 and a sleeve 60 fixed on the plunger 57 for yieldablyholding the valve plunger 57 on the seat 56.

Each of the nozzles 49 is disposed in the head 61 of the engine, whichthe pump 10 services, and is adapted to spray fuel into the air streamto an intake valve 62. It will, of course, be understood that the nozzle49 can instead be directed to spray fuel directly into the explosioncavity of the cylinder or else into the engine intake manifold as iswell known.

The face piece 19 is provided with eight ports 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,69 and 70. Each of the ports 63, 65, 67 and 69 is connected to a port 71in the casing 10 which is connected through a conduit 54 with one of theinjection nozzles 49. Thus it will be apparent that there are fourinjection nozzlles for four cylinders of the engine connected to theface piece 18 and four nozzles for the other four cylinders of theengine connected to the face piece 19. The ports 64, 66, 68 and 70 areall connected to passage 72 in the casing 10, which is in communicationwith the passage 51 and the fuel inlet port 52.

The rotor 16 is provided with a passage 73 therethrough which is incommunication with one end of the cavity 29 and with another passage 74therethrough which is in communication with the other end of the cavity29. The passages 73 and 74 are so located that the outer end of thepassage 73 passes over and is consecutively aligned with the ports 40 to47 and the outer end of the passage 74 passes over and is consecutivelyaligned with the ports 63 to 70 when the rotor 16 is rotated.

The fuel supply system connected to the port 52 comprises a pump 75driven by any suitable prime mover, such as an electric motor 76, andconnected to a fuel tank 77 by means of a conduit 78. The pump 75 isconnected to a discharge conduit 79 which is connected through a filter8 with the port 52.

A relief valve 81 is provided for maintaining the pressure in theconduit 79 at a predetermined maximum value and comprises a plunger 82acted on by a spring 83 and opening a port 84 connected by means of aconduit 85 with the conduit 78, bypassing the pump 75.

The shaft 22 is driven by a shaft 86. The shaft 86 is in turn drivenfrom the cam shaft of the engine through gears 87 and 88.

The rotative position of the plug 33 is controlled by means of a shaft89 acting through a hollow shell member '90. The shaft 89 isreciprocably disposed within the casing portion 11, and the shell member90 is reciprocably disposed within the face piece 18.

The plug 33 is formed with left handed helical external splines 91, andthe shell member 90 is formed with internal splines 92 that are in meshwith the splines 91. A spring 93 is disposed between the shell member 90and an internal shoulder of the rotor 16. A pin 94 is provided in therotor 16 and extends into a peni-pheral slot 95 formed in the plug 33,allowing the plug to rotate but preventing it from reciprocatingmovement within the rotor 16. A pin 96 is fixed within the rotor 16 andextends into an opening 97 provided through the shell member 90 forcausing the shell member 90 to rotate along with the rotor 16.

In operation, the pump 75 draws fuel through the con- .duit 78 from thetank 77 and discharges it into the conduit 79, and the port 52 issupplied with this fuel as pressurized by the pump 75 through the filter80. The fuel is maintained at a predetermined maximum pressure in theconduit 79 by means of the relief valve '81. The fuel under pressure inthe conduit 79 acts on the plunger 82 and moves it against the action ofthe spring 83 so as to open the port 84 and afllow excess fuel pumped bythe pump 75 to flow through the conduit 85 back into the conduit 78.

The shaft 22 and thereby the rotor 16 are driven from the engine atone-half the speed of the engine crankshaft in the case of theconventional four stroke cycle engine. When the rotor 16 is rotated intoits illustrated position in which the passageway 74 is aligned With theport 63 and the passageway 73 is aligned with the port 44, the fuelunder pressure flows from the port 52 through the passages 51 and 50,the port 44 and passageway 73 to the lower end of the plunger 31, sothat the plunger 31 is moved upwardly as seen in FIG. 1 to the limit ofits movement. Fuel is present in the cavity 29 above the plunger 31, andthis movement of the plunger pumps fuel through the passageway 74 andport 63 to the port 71 and the injector .49 connected therewith. Fuel isthus sprayed from this injector 49 into the engine cylinder served bythis injector.

As the shaft 22 continues its rotation, the passageway 74 moves out ofalignment with the port 63. At the same time, the passageway 73 movesout of alignment with the port 44, and the source of fuel under pressureis thus disconnected with respect to the passageway 73, but fuel remainswithin the cavity 29 below the shuttle plunger 31. When the rotor 16rotates 45 degrees from its illustrated position, the passageway 74becomes aligned with the port 70, and at the same time the passageway 73becomes aligned with the port 45. The port 70 is supplied with fuelunder pressure from the inlet port 52, and fuel flows through the port70 and passageway 74 to the upper end of the shuttle plunger 31. Thepassageway 73 is aligned with the port 45 which is connected to a nozzle49; and the fuel under pressure applied to the upper end of the shuttleplunger 31 moves the l nger 31 downwardly so that the plunger pumps fuelthrough the passageway 73 and port 45 to the connected nozzle 49, andfuel is sprayed from this nozzle.

As the shaft 22 continues its rotation, the passageway 74 successivelybecomes aligned with the outlet port 69, the inlet port 68, the outletport 67, the inlet port 66, outlet port 65, and the inlet port 64; and,at the same time, the port 73 becomes successively and respectivelyaligned with the inlet port 46, the outlet port 47, the inlet port 40,the outlet port 41, the inlet port 42, and the outlet port 43. Theshuttle plunger 31 reciprocates downwardly as seen in FIG. 1 wheneverthe passageway 74 is connected with an inlet port and pumps fuel throughthe passageway 73 which at this time is connected to an outlet port; andwhenever passageway 73 is connected with a fuel inlet port, the shuttleplunger reciprocates upwardly as seen in FIG. 1 to pump fuel through thepassageway 74 to an outlet port.

The stroke of the shuttle plunger 31 and thus the amount of fuel that isejected from the nozzles 49 on each reciprocation of the plunger 31 isdetermined by adjustment of the control plug 33 which is rotatablyadjusted by reciprocating the shaft 89. When the shaft 89 is movedinwardly of the casing portion 11, the shell member 90 is given acorresponding inward movement against the action of the spring 93, andthe splines 92 co-acting with the splines 91 rotate the plug 33 in aclockwise direction as viewed from the left in FIG. 1. Likewise, amovement of the shaft 89 in the opposite direction, that is, toward theleft, as seen in FIG. 1, allows the shell member 90 to move in the samedirection due to the action of the spring 93, so that the plug 33 isrotated in the opposite direction. The plug 33 thus is adjusted through90 degrees with respect to the shaft 22 for the purpose of variablylimiting reciprocation of the plunger 31.

When the plug 33 is rotated clock-wise, as seen from the left in FIG. 1,so that the rib 34 is at right angles to the plunger 31, the sides ofthe groove 32 make contact with the sides of the rib 34 as the plunger31 reciprocates to limit the reciprocating movement of the plunger; andthe plunger reciprocates through its maximum travel so that thedischarge through the nozzles 49 is at a maximum. On the other hand,when the plug 83 is turned 90 degrees with respect to the shaft 22 sothat the rib 34 is positioned parallel to the axis of the shuttleplunger 31, the ends of the rib very nearly abut both ends of the groove32 so that the plunger 31 may have little movement, and the dischargethrough the nozzles 49 is at a As the plug 33 is rotated between thesetwo positions, the rib 34 comprehends a variable axial distance betweenthe ends of the groove 32, and the reciprocation of the plunger 31 inthe cavity 29 is correspondingly varied, the reciprocation in all casesbeing limited by the ends of the groove 32 abutting outer surfaces ofthe rib 34.

The fuel injector pump shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 comprises a casingformed of easing portions 101 and 102. A rotor 103 is rotatably disposedin the casing 100, and a shaft 104 is splined within the rotor 103 fordriving the rotor. The shaft 104 may be driven from the cam shaft 86through gears 87 and 88 at one-half the speed of the engine crank shaftin the case of a fourstroke cycle engine, in the same manner as theshaft 22 in the previously described embodiment.

A cylindrical cavity 29 is provided in the rotor 103 which has areciprocable shuttle plunger 31 disposed therein. The cavity 29 isclosed on its ends by plugs 30, similarly as in the first embodiment.

Reciprocation of the plunger 31 is controlled by means of a shaft 105extending through the casing portion 102 in alignment with the shaft104. The rotor 103 is provided with a slot 106, and a pair of toggles107 and 108 are pivoted at 109 and 110, respectively, within the slot106. One end of each of the toggles 107 and 108 is in contact with theshaft 105, and the other ends of the toggles are disposed in the slot 32of the shuttle plunger 31.

The rotor 103 is provided with passageways 111 and 112 extendingtherethrough in communication with the upper end of the cavity 29 asillustrated in FIG. 6. The passageways 111 and 112 respectivelyterminate in ports 113 and 114 on the ends of the rotor 103 which aredisposed at a radius a with respect to the center line of the shafts 105and 104. The rotor 103 is also provided with passageways 115 and 116 incommunication with the lower end of the cavity 29 as illustrated in FIG.6. ".[he passageways 115 and 116 respectively terminate in ports 117 and118 on the ends of the rotor 103 which are disposed at a larger radius bfrom the center lines of the shafts 103 and 104.

The casing portion 102 is provided with ports 119, 120, 121 and 122,each of which is in communication with a port 48 connected to a fuelinjection nozzle 49, and which are disposed at the short radius a fromthe center line of the shafts 105 and 104. The casing portion 102 isalso provided with ports 123, 124, 125 and 126, each of which isconnected to a port 48 and a nozzle 49 and which are disposed at thelarge radius 17 from the center lines of the shafts 105 and 104.

A sealing plate 127 is disposed over the right end of the rotor 103 andis non-rotatably fixed with respect to the casing 100 by means of a pin128 extending from the casing 100 into an opening formed in the plate127. The casing 100 forms a fuel supply cavity 129 between the plate 127and the adjacent inner face of the casing 100, and this cavity isconnected with a port 52 supplied with fuel under pressure from thesupply system previously described. A sealing diaphragm 130 is disposedabout the shaft 104 and is fixed about the openings in the casing 100and plate 127 through which the shaft 104 extends for sealing the fuelsupply cavity 129.

The plate 127 is provided with openings 131, 132, 133 and 134therethrough which are on the small radius a, and the plate 127 isprovided with openings 135, 136, 137 and 138 therethrough which are onthe large radius b.

As will be observed from FIGS. 7 and 8, the openings 119 to 126 arespaced at 45 degrees with respect to each other, and the same is true ofthe openings 131 to 138, the openings at the small radius a beingalternated with the openings at the large radius 17. The openings at thelarge radius b in the casing portion 102 are 45 degrees out of phasewith the openings at the large radius b in the plate 127, the openings123 and 125 at the large radius in the casing portion 102 being on avertical center line as seen in FIG. 7, and the openings 131 and 133 atthe small radius a in the plate 127 also being on a vertical center lineas seen in FIG. 8.

in operation, when the rotor is positioned as shown in F C 6, the port114 is in alignment with the port 131, both being at the small radius a;and the port 117 is in alignment with the port 125, both being at thelarge radius b. Fluid under pressure passes through the ports 131 and114 and the passageway 112 to the upper end of the shuttle piston 31 andmoves the piston downwardly within the cavity 29. Fuel is present in thecavity 29 below the piston 31, and the piston on such downward movementpumps fuel through the passageway 115 and the ports 117 and 125 at thelarge radius b to a port 48 and a nozzle 49.

As the shaft 104 continues rotation, the ports 114 and 117 pass out ofalignment with the ports 131 and 125; and when the shaft 104 is rotatedfor 45 degrees, the port 118 becomes aligned with the port 136, and theport 113 becomes aligned with the port 120. Such alignment is due to thefact that the ports 118 and 136 are on the large radius 1) and the ports113 and 120 are on the small radius :1. Fuel under pressure flowsthrough the ports 136 and 118 and the passageway 116 to the lower end ofthe cavity 29 and moves the plunger 31 upwardly. The plunger 31 on suchmovement pumps fuel through the passageway 6 111 and the ports 113 andto a port 48 and a nozzle 49.

As the shaft 104 continues its rotation, alternately the port 114 andthe port 118 will be supplied with fuel under pressure from the ports134, 137, 133, 136, 132 and to cause reciprocation of the piston 31downwardly and upwardly respectively as viewed in FIG. 6. Fuel is pumpedalternately through the passageways 115 and 111 from port 117 at thelarge radius and the port 113 at the small radius respectively, theports 1 17 and 113 alternately becoming aligned with the delivery ports124, 121, 125, 122, 126 and 119.

The function of the toggle links 107 and 108 is to limit and vary thereciprocatory movement of the plunger 31. The farther that the shaft 105is moved forwardly toward the shaft 104, the greater the ends of thetoggles 107 and 108 are separated toward the ends of the groove 32 inthe plunger 31 and the shorter the reciprocatory stroke of the plunger31 becomes. Conversely, as the control shaft 105 is drawn outwardly ofthe assembly away from the shaft 104, the closer the ends of the togglelinks 107 and 108 may approach each other within the grbove 32, and thegreater the stroke of the plunger 31 becomes. As is apparent, thegreater the stroke of the plunger 31 is, the greater becomes the amountof fuel ejected from the nozzles 49.

In my improved fuel injection pumps, a central rotor with a plungermovable at right angles to the axis of rotation is centrally disposed todistribute and receive fuel from opposite ends of the rotor. The plungeris supplied with fuel in order to reciprocate it and it pumps fuelduring reciprocations through nozzles connected to the plunger. In theFIG. 6 form of fuel injection pump, all of the fuel is supplied to therotor from one end of it, and all of the fuel is pumped from the rotorat its other end. In the FIG. 1 form of the device, fuel is suppliedfrom both ends and is pumped from both ends of the rotor.

I Wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to thespecific constructions and arrangements shown and described, exceptinsofar as the claims may be so limited, as it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from theprinciples of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine having aplurality of combustion cylinders; a source of fuel under pressure; anda fuel injection distributor adapted to receive fuel under pressure fromsaid pressure source and deliver said fuel to the various combustioncylinders of the engine; said distributor comprising the combination ofa rotatable rotor having a pair of opposite end faces; a casing for saidrotor; a pair of face pieces in said casing in face-to-face contact withsaid end faces; a plunger reciprocably disposed in said rotor; saidrotor being provided with a port in one of its end faces incommunication with one end of said plunger and with another port in theother of its end faces in communication with the other end of saidplunger; said end pieces each being provided with a plurality of portstherethrough in communication with internal cavities within said casingconnected to said source of fuel under pressure and being provided withports alternately disposed with respect to said first named ports whichare connectible to different ones of said engine cylinders; one of saidface pieces having fuel under pressure within said cavities applied toit to hold the face pieces in fluid tight contact with said rotor; ashaft extending through said casing connected to rotate said rotor; anda second shaft in alignment with said first named shaft extendingthrough said casing and rotor and having a rib disposed within a groovein said plunger for limiting the stroke of the plunger; said rotor portsbeing disposed with respect to the ports in said face pieces so that assaid rotor rotates, the port in one of the rotor end faces isalternately connected to fuel pressure ports and engine cylinder portsin the corresponding face piece and the port in the other rotor end faceis at the same time alternately connected respectively with the enginecylinder ports and the fuel pressure ports and the fuel pressurereciprocates the plunger and the plunger pumps fuel to the enginecylinders.

2. In a fuel injection distributor for injecting fuel into an internalcombustion engine having a plurality of explosion cylinders from asource of fuel under pressure, the combination of a rotatable rotorhaving a pair of opposite end faces, a pair of face pieces in face toface contact with said end faces, and a plunger reciprocably disposed insaid rotor at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor, saidrotor having a pair of ports in each of its end faces respectivelyconnected to opposite ends of said plunger and located at differentdistances from the axis of rotation of the rotor, said face pieces eachhaving a pair of ports therein adapted to respectively coincide with theports in the rotor end face in contact with the face piece, the ports ofone of said face pieces being connectible to said pressure source andthe ports in the other of said face pieces being connectible to saidengine, said ports being so disposed that a rotor port connected to oneend of said plunger becomes aligned with a fuel supply port at the sametime that the rotor port connected with the other end of said plungerbecomes aligned with an engine supply port so that the fuel sourcereciprocates the plunger and causes it to pump fuel to the engine, andmeans for variably limiting the stroke of said plunger for limiting theamount of fuel pumped by the plunger, said means including a pair ofpivotally mounted toggle arms interconnected at one end thereof, and acontrol arm acting on said toggle arms for adjusting the position ofsaid toggle arms for limiting the stroke of said plunger.

3. In a fuel injection apparatus for an internal combustion enginehaving a plurality of explosion cylinders; the combination of a sourceof fuel under pressure, a rotatable rotor having a pair of opposite endfaces, a casing for said rotor, a shaft extending through said casingand to said'rotor for driving the rotor, said casing being provided witha face piece portion in face to face contact with one of said end facesand a face piece within said casing in face to face contact with theother rotor end face, said casing having a cavity therein formed betweensaid face piece and an end of the casing connected to said fuel sourceso that said faces are held in fluid tight contact due to the action ofthe fuel under pressure on said face piece, a plunger reciprocablydisposed in said rotor at right angles to said shaft, said rotor havinga pair of ports in each of its said faces respectively connected toopposite ends of said plunger and being disposed at different distancesfrom the axis of the rotor, said face piece portion in contact with saidrotor having a plurality of ports alternate ones of which are at saiddifferent distances from the shaft axis and which are adapted to beconnected to the different cylinders of the engine, said face piecehaving a plurality of ports therethrough alternate ones of which are atsaid different distances from the shaft axis and which are incommunication with said fluid pressure cavity, said ports being sodisposed that a rotor port connected to one end of said plunger becomesaligned with a fuel supply port at the same time that a rotor portconnected with the other end of said plunger becomes aligned with anengine supply port so that the fuel under pressure reciprocates theplunger and causes it to pump fuel to the engine, and means for variablylimiting the reciprocatory stroke of said plunger to vary the amount offuel pumped to the engine cylinders, said means including a pair ofpivoted toggle arms interconnected at one end thereof and contactingsaid plunger at the other ends thereof, and a control shaft effective tosaid interconnected end to adjust the distance between said other endsfor thereby limiting the stroke of said plunger.

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